Man Fakes His Death on Facebook to Fleece Family for Funeral Costs

A husband and wife in Thailand are experiencing a well-deserved 15 minutes of infamy after it was revealed that they faked the man's death on Facebook in order to get money from his grieving friends and family. The bizarre saga began last weekend when Tachawit Janngiw's wife posted strange pictures of him lying on the ground and declared that he had died. Shocked friends of the couple asked what had happened and were told that he had fallen victim to the strange combination of cancer and asthma.

According to a report, once word of his passing had gotten around, Janngiw's wife proceeded to call his mother to lament that she had no money to bury him. The mourning mom subsequently sent her around $600 dollars so that she could buy a coffin and ensure that Janngiw's remains would be sent to his hometown for burial. His mother and other remaining next of kin went about taking care of the rest of the funeral arrangements, but were bewildered when the 'big day' came and Janngiw's body never arrived.

Confused by what may have caused the delay, a cousin called Janngiw and was shocked when the believed-to-be-dead man answered the phone. Although he quickly hung up the phone after realizing his mistake, Janngiw's scheme was thoroughly exposed to his now-angry family who had shelled out nearly $2,000 dollars for the funeral that failed to happen. However the stunt may wind up costing the man even more as his story was picked up by the national media in Thailand and made him something of a public pariah for the ill-conceived stunt.